It seems that everyone out there in books and blogs and articles all have different answers in regards to potty training.

I have a 10 week old Chihuahua that we are taking out every 30 minutes or so to pee, and she seems to have a very regular bowel movement schedule of 4x a day at 4:30AM, 7:30AM, 3:30PM and 7:30PM. I have heard that a puppy gains more control over their bladder and bowels around 3 months of age. I'm just wondering when I can start taking her out every 45 minutes , or every hour and so on. I feel overwhelmed with all the conflicting information available and what I should do so I don't mess up.

I'm also waking every 2.5 hours during the night to take her out and pee her.

I would like to know everyone else's experiences, what worked for them, what didn't, and timeframes. I am following everything I read that seems to make sense, but there doesn't seem to be many how-to's out there that tell you how to proceed after the first few weeks of training.

Jull

August 30th, 2013 10:50 AM

every 30 minutes? I always thought is was every 2 hours for puppies? :confused: Does she actually pee every 30 minutes??

I guess any tips depends on everyone's experience.

For me, with Bestia, my 2 year old yorkie mix, we trained him to use puppy pads at the same we were teaching him to go outside, and we got pretty lucky with that smart little guy, because at night he would never wake us up he would go straight to the pad, and once he learned to go outside and we missed him by the door, he would ran over the pad as well.

Now, with our second dog, almost a year now, the training part was a challenge, and he never learned to use the pads (he eats them instead) so when we were home all the time we always took him out constantly, about every 2 hours, even if he didn't have to go just to get him used to. Now when he came to our house he was just over 3 months old, but I have to say we were lucky that he pretty much slept through the night; he did get up pretty early to go out, but that was fine, he never got up through the night.

Other than that if we were not home, we applied the hour per month rule and make sure someone could take them out.

Maybe you could try teaching her to use the pads for when you are out? I know with Bestia even now we put the pad out for him just in case... I am still hoping I can teach Guero to use them too but he is a tough one :)

hazelrunpack

August 30th, 2013 12:15 PM

Our usual procedure for potty training puppies is to make a trip outside for potty immediately upon getting up in the morning or from a nap, before and after play (and watch them for signs they have to pee while playing because at very young ages they may get the 'call' when they're active :D), and at least every two hours to start.

Another rule of thumb is that the pup can hold it's potty for one hour per month of age--so 2 hours at 2 mos of age, 3 at 3 mos, etc--but every pup is different and you may have to adjust that schedule to accommodate your little one.

If you catch them in the act of eliminating indoors, interrupt them with a vocal signal (we just use a guttural "uh-uh") and take them outdoors. Don't make a fuss--just take them out and then praise them when they finish up outside.

If you find a mess but didn't catch pup in the act, just clean it up and don't correct the dog at all--after the fact, pup won't make the connection between the correction and having eliminated in the house.

And above all, patience, patience, patience. :D It may take some time, but it'll happen. :thumbs up

marko

August 30th, 2013 01:10 PM

We recorded a podcast a few years ago with tenderfoot training on this topic it may help.

46 – GETTING YOUR DOG TO DO ITS BUSINESS ON COMMAND – INTERVIEW WITH TENDERFOOT TRAINING

Thank you Marco for directing me to that podcast - it was very informative. And it put to rest one main concern I had about puppy pads. I do not want a dog that eliminates in the house ever. I've had a lot of dogs in my life and I have always trained every one of them to go potty outside. This new puppy is a Chihuahua, but to me, that does not make it OK to let them eliminate in the house. So , for us, and our dogs, pads are not an option ever. I was concerned, being a Chihuahua, that pad training may be something I would have to embrace, but the podcast convinced me of what I already felt. A dog is a dog - whether it weight 9 lbs or 90 lbs. They can all go potty outside - no negotiating.

So I guess I will just keep on training our little girl the way I've been training all my other dogs - persistence, patience, and praise for good.